Why City Chicken has No Chicken: A New Look at a Century-Old Recipe by Cleo Coyle

One hundred years ago, when you couldn't afford real chicken, "City Chicken" was a tasty alternative, a way to enjoy mock fried chicken drumsticks using meat scraps (pork, beef, veal) from the butcher.

Different regions have their own take on this dish. Some deep fry the mock drumsticks, others have no breading. My husband's mother prepared it, "Pittsburgh style"—breaded, sautéed, baked, and served with pan gravy, which is the very recipe I'm sharing with you today. Our longtime followers may recall my sharing this recipe a few years ago. I thought it would be fun to share again for our new followers and readers. AND since my husband (and partner in crime writing) has been craving it lately, I thought it was about time I aided and abetted his desire to...Eat with joy!~ Cleo

During the Depression, when this mock chicken dish really took off, fatty trimmings and meat scraps of pork, beef, and veal were less expensive than chicken, especially in urban areas that were far from poultry farms. In other words, city-dwellers were the ones making it because chicken was too expensive to eat.

And how does it taste?

Incredibly good. Marc and I grew up just outside of Pittsburgh, where the dish has been popular for years. Wednesdays were City Chicken night at my husband's house, where his mom served her hearty mock drumsticks with string beans and mashed potatoes—to soak up all that good pan gravy.

For years, many of the grocery stores in the Pittsburgh area sold "City Chicken" packs of pork pieces with skewers included. Wikipedia's entry on City Chicken even features a picture of one of these Pittsburgh packs. (See Wiki photo at left.)

Here in New York, where we've lived for decades, we've never seen "City Chicken" packs—ironic since it's the biggest city in the country! But, hey, that's okay. Marc and I don’t need those packs. And neither do you. Just look for packages of boneless pork and/or veal pieces (usually marked for stew, see my pictures below), follow our recipe, and you’re all set to make your very own Pittsburgh-style comfort food.

Note: If you bought "stew meat" packages as shown above, you should be ready to go. If you can't find stew meat, purchase pork loin chops and/or veal steaks and cut them into small pieces ( about 1- to 1-1/2 inches in size).

Step 1: Prepare the Meat - Arrange the meat pieces on each of the six skewers. If using more than one type, alternate them (pork, veal, pork, veal, etc...) Fit the pieces together tightly to create a mock chicken drumstick. Dredge each of the mock drumsticks in flour, then in the egg wash (2 eggs beaten with 1 T. milk or water), and finally coat generously with the seasoned bread crumbs.

Step 2: Brown the meat – Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. While oven is heating, place the vegetable oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. When this shallow oil is hot enough to ripple, add 1 tablespoon of butter and allow it to melt. Sauté the mock drumsticks about five minutes in the hot oil, turning often, until the outsides are golden brown. Remove the mock drumsticks from the pan and set them aside on a holding plate. Turn the heat to low.

Step 3: Sauté the onions – Add the chopped onion to the hot oil, along with about 1 tablespoon butter. Cook and stir over the low heat until the onions are brown, about five minutes. Now return the mock drumsticks to the pan (along with any drippings that may have accumulated on the holding plate). Cook them only for another minute or two.

Step 4: Bake in the oven – Add ½ cup chicken or vegetable stock to the skillet, cover with a lid, and bake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes, or until the meat is tender.

Step 5: Make the gravy -The onions and stock create a nice gravy as the meat cooks. While you can spoon this thin gravy over the mock drumsticks as is, we prefer to thicken it. To do this, you'll need to remove all of the mock drumsticks from the pan while leaving the liquid in there...

Over low heat, whisk the Wondra flour (or cornstarch) into the liquid. If you like, you can stir a bit of butter into the gravy for richness, as well, although it's not a necessity. Simmer for a minute or two, whisking in more flour or cornstarch until the gravy thickens to your liking. Then plate the mock drumsticks, spoon the gravy over them, as shown, and...

It is indeed yummy, a fantastic retro comfort food. As for the skewer, that's the diner's choice. You can slide the meat off or pick it up and eat it like a piece of fried chicken.

Marc and I like to smother it in that savory pan gravy, so we usually opt for sliding the skewer out and eating our City Chicken with knife and fork. To slide out the six-inch skewer, simply brace your fork tines against meat and pull on the long end. Because of the breading and cooking, the "mock chicken drumstick" stays together, even without the skewer.

Thank you kindly for dropping by the "Kitchen," Libby, have a delicious week!

It's a fun retro dinner, Peg, great history to the dish. In the Pittsburgh area, I can tell you, many people have fond memories of it.

Marc's mother used to pour the extra pan gravy over a side of mashed potatoes, but many Eastern European families in our area served it over a side of "Halusky" (fried cabbage and noodles). Now that's a stick-to-the ribs dinner!

I can remember my mother serving city chicken when we were kids. I'm pretty sure she bought it at the butcher shop and it was breaded. I haven't heard of it in years, I think I will give it a try. Thanks for the recipe.

Nice memory of your mom making it. This was a great budget dish for families with butchers happy to sell their trimmings and "stew meat" for far less than chops and fillets. These days, I think it's great culinary fun to create mock fried chicken drumsticks. The pan gravy is mighty tasty, too!